Chiratae Ventures expands leadership, targets growth

Chiratae Ventures named Venkatesh Peddi and Ranjith Menon as MDs to lead venture fund series; to hire a third partner

- Sneha Shah & Priyamvada C.

Chiratae Ventures, which has backed prominent startups such as PolicyBazaar, FirstCry and Lenskart, has appointed managing directors Venkatesh Peddi and Ranjith Menon to lead its venture fund series, three people familiar with the matter told Mint.

The firm is also in discussions to hire a third partner to focus on growth investments, these people said.

Founders T.C. Meenakshisundaram and Sudhir Sethi will continue to be involved in Series A+ investment decisions and will drive the firm's expansion into other investment segments while also shaping the firm's culture and senior talent acquisition, they added.

The developments come as the firm looks to strengthen its late-stage fund, double down on its early-stage vehicle while it prepares to enter other investing strategies as the founders prepare the venture capital firm for its next phase of growth.

Sethi explained it is seeing a good opportunity to expand its business and provide channels for their investors to diversify the capital base.